Welcome to my Substack.
I am genuinely grateful that you are here.
I am starting this space because I believe we are living through a defining moment in America, one that calls for thoughtful leadership, moral seriousness, and a clear commitment to the future we want to build.
I lead Chicago Scholars, an organization dedicated to helping young people across Chicago reach college, careers, and lives of economic mobility and purpose, but note all my thoughts are my own.
Our work is grounded in a simple belief.
Every student deserves to pursue their future with dignity, stability, and safety.
But right now, too many young people are growing up in a country where fear is becoming part of everyday life. Fear of instability. Fear of uncertainty. Fear of what happens when power shows up without accountability.
That fear is not just emotional.
It is civic.
And it is dangerous.
Because democracy cannot thrive when communities do not feel safe.
A Tragedy That Demands More Than Silence
On January 24th, Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old ICU nurse in Minneapolis, was shot and killed during an encounter involving federal immigration enforcement agents.
His death has sparked national concern, public grief, and urgent questions about what occurred, how force was used, and what accountability will follow. Journalists have reviewed video evidence that has intensified scrutiny, while officials have offered conflicting explanations.
This is a tragedy for his family and community.
But it is also a moment that forces a larger question into the open.
What happens to a democracy when enforcement is experienced as aggression rather than protection?
What happens when government power enters neighborhoods in ways that generate fear instead of trust?
Democracy Depends on Trust, Not Intimidation
Democracy is not only a system of elections.
It is a system of legitimacy.
It depends on public confidence that power has limits.
That institutions are accountable.
That civil rights apply to everyone.
That safety is real, and not selective.
When agencies operate in ways that appear militarized or unaccountable, the damage is not abstract.
Trust collapses.
Communities withdraw.
People begin to feel that the system is not for them, or worse, that the system is against them.
And when that happens, democracy becomes weaker.
Not overnight.
But gradually.
Relationally.
Spiritually.
Civically.
That’s where we are as a country.
Young People Feel This First
At Chicago Scholars, we work with thousands of students navigating adolescence, identity, ambition, and belonging.
Many of our young people are already carrying more than they should.
Economic pressure.
Community violence.
Housing instability.
Discrimination.
Questions about opportunity.
So when aggressive enforcement actions or high-profile deaths occur, the impact is immediate.
Students start asking questions that are hard to answer.
Am I safe in my own neighborhood?
Can I trust the institutions that claim to protect us?
What happens to my family if power turns toward us?
Do we matter in the eyes of the state?
This is what civic fear does.
It does not just frighten people.
It diminishes possibility.
It undermines learning.
It erodes engagement.
It teaches young people to expect instability instead of belonging.
A society cannot claim to invest in the next generation while normalizing intimidation in public life.
Accountability Is Not Radical. It Is Democratic
It is possible to believe in lawful immigration policy and still insist on democratic safeguards.
Accountability is not extremism.
It is the baseline of a functioning democracy.
We should be able to say clearly that when force is used, independent investigation must follow.
We should be able to say that transparency is not optional.
We should be able to say that no agency should operate beyond oversight.
And we should be able to say that safety cannot come at the expense of dignity.
These are not partisan demands.
They are democratic ones.
What Chicago Scholars Stands For
Chicago Scholars exists to expand opportunity, leadership, and belonging.
We want students to grow up believing their city cares about them.
That their country has a place for them.
That their voice matters.
That their future is worth building.
But that requires more than programs.
It requires institutions that are trustworthy.
It requires communities that are not governed by fear.
It requires a democracy that protects the humanity of the people who will inherit it.
Why I Am Writing Here
This Substack will be a space where I write about the intersection of youth opportunity, civic trust, leadership, and the future of democracy.
Because the future will not only be shaped in Washington.
It will be shaped in our neighborhoods, our schools, and in the lived experience of young people as they decide whether this country still belongs to them.
Alex Pretti should still be alive.
And our responsibility is not only to mourn, but to ask what kind of country we are becoming.
What kind of society are we modeling?
What kind of democracy will our children inherit?
Thank you for being here.
Let’s do this work with clarity, courage, and care.
Closing Invitation
If you believe our democracy must be measured by the safety and dignity of the next generation, I hope you will subscribe and join me.
Because the future depends on what we protect right now.
Such an insightful read, Accountability is Democratic!!
As a youth program leader you know the day-to-day work needed to support your students, your staff and to solicit operating funds from your donors. I know these challenges because I led volunteer-based tutor/mentor programs in Chicago from 1975 to 2011 and created the Tutor/Mentor Connection in 1993 to help every existing program get more attention and a better flow of dollars, while also helping new programs form where more are needed. I still lead that but through the Tutor/Mentor Institute, LLC. Chicago Scholars participated in at least one of the conferences I hosted every six months between 1994 and 2015.
The last year has been more difficult for me, and I suspect most who are still leading youth programs, than ever in the past. I find that the social media channels I had used since the mid 2000s to connect and share ideas are now clogged with responses to the terrible things happening in the US and across the world, many caused by an ultra conservative movement that's been growing since the end of the Civil War.
In the midst of responding to what seems like a new atrocity every day, or a new funding cut, how do you maintain your focus on the Chicago Scholars message? I'm sure you know that without continuous support some of the students you and other youth programs serve, will fail to reach their potential, and may fail to be alive by age 25.
I hope you'll use your articles to encourage leaders of other tutor/mentor programs to start their own blogs, reflecting on the challenges they and their students face, and those being caused by the current political reality.